Interview With Michael Gaspard, GM University Ridge Golf Course By Brian Weis

Interview With Michael Gaspard, GM University Ridge Golf Course

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

Below is an interview with Michael Gaspard, General Manager University Ridge Golf Course. After graduating from UW Madison, moved to Phoenix, AZ to start career in golf. First Assistant at Westin Kierland, Scottsdale, AZ for four years. Tournament Coordinator & Head Golf Professional for five years at JW Marriott Wildfire Golf Club, Phoenix, AZ. Currently, GM at University Ridge, where I have spent last four years. The following are a few traditional and non traditional golf centric questions that I love to ask influential people in the golf industry.

When did you start golfing and who introduced you do the game?
Age 14, Moor Downs Golf Course, where a couple of friends introduced the game to me.

What is your current home course?
University Ridge

To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
Shooting 68 at Gold Canyon (Dinosaur Course) in AZ

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
Golfers not fixing ball marks or not fixing them properly.

What is your favorite golf destination?
Phoenix/Scottsdale AZ

What course is on your bucket list that you have not played yet?
Pebble Beach

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
Ritz Carlton White Witch, Jamaica or Whisper Rock, AZ

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
Time commitment. It would be nice to play/practice more, but the time commitment is so great.

Dream foursome (living)?
At my last course in Phoenix we used to have a running game that we played that you had to start like this... Last week, I decided to play golf as a single, walk-on and pulled up to the first tee and I could not believe who I would be joining..... We would try to come up with the weirdest/funniest foursome and I think the best I heard was Don Rickles, Gary Coleman, and Soleil Moon-Frye (Punky Brewster).
Honestly, myself, Tiger Woods, Bob Uecker, and Dave Matthews (he would probably just play some acoustic for us)

18 Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

1) Hitting Long Drive OR Sinking Long Putt?
Long Putt

2) Having Round of Life OR Hole in One?
Having Round of Life, as my only hole-in-one I was playing as a single and the hole was up hill so never saw it go in (worst hole-in-one ever)

3) Golfing at the crack of dawn OR twilight?
Dawn

4) Hit a power fade OR power draw?
Power Draw into the woods

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
Both

6) Bathroom OR bushes?
Bathroom

7) Hot dog OR wrap?
Wrap

8) Around the green, being in sand OR thick rough?
Around the green

9) Walking OR riding?
Walking, though rarely do it.

10) Do you carry traditional 3 iron OR hybrid?
Hybrid

11) Do you prefer long par 3 OR long par 5?
Long par 3

12) Pants OR Shorts?
Pants

13) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
Nicklaus

14) Beatles OR Elvis?
Elvis

15) Play for fun OR play for money?
Money

16) Bump and run OR flop shot?
Flop

17) Lay up OR gamble?
Gamble

18) 18 holes OR 36?
18

Article Tags: Michael Gaspard

Revised: 09/06/2011 - Article Viewed 55,519 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.